Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop

Located at 1030 Smith Street in Chinatown, Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop is one of those hot trendy places. It’s common to see a line outside the restaurant since they don’t take reservations.

My significant other does not like to wait so I’m glad he agreed to try Scratch. We parked at the municipal parking lot off S. Beretania and walked to the restaurant. We got there about 10:30. I wanted to try some lunch entree’s and lunch starts at 10:30 a.m.

Sure enough, there was a line outside. We checked in and were told it was about a 15-20 minute wait. We were seated at 10:52 so the wait time was pretty accurate. People were checking in with their phone numbers and leaving.

After checking out the menu, my SO ordered a big biscuit ($5), a side of bacon ($4) which consisted of 4 slices, and a side of 2 scrambled eggs ($3). I ordered the pork apple pasta.

Be prepared to wait for the food. The biscuit came out first. It was not warm but was freshly made. It looked more like a scone than a biscuit. It was good but honestly not worth $5. The egg and the bacon was priced right. The maple butter served with the biscuit was a nice touch.

The pork belly pasta was very good. The combination of the pork belly and apple and cheese was a winner. Portion of the pasta was enough for two light meals.

Would I go back to Scratch? I think so. Perhaps I’ll try the pork belly sandwich or the shrimp and grits next time.